Enclosure 11 CESAM SOP 1130-2-9 - Mobile District

Enclosure 11
CESAM SOP 1130-2-9

DRAFT FEB 2005
CESAM-OP-TR SAM SOP 1130-2-9
XX Month Year
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Mobile District, Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 2288
Mobile, Alabama, 36628-0001
Project Operations
RESERVOIR REGULATION AND COORDINATION
FOR FISH MANAGEMENT PURPOSES
1. Purpose. To provide a standing operating procedure (SOP) to be followed by Mobile
District staff and selected Operations Division field offices to implement South Atlantic
Division Regulation DR 1130-2-16, Project Operations, Lake Regulation and
Coordination for Fish Management Purposes. This SOP (1) identifies designated periods
of time within which fish spawn operations will be conducted at specific projects, (2)
establishes protocols for coordination between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS),
State fisheries personnel, and the Corps, and (3) provides for development of an annual
plan for special water management operations by the Corps, in coordination with the
FWS and the State fisheries agencies, that would balance impacts and benefits to both
reservoir and riverine fisheries during the spring fish spawning period. This SOP is
intended to benefit multiple sport fish and forage fish species having similar spawning
habits.
2. Applicability. This SOP applies to the operation of Allatoona Lake, Okatibbee Lake,
Lake Sidney Lanier, West Point Lake, Walter F. George Lake, Lake Seminole, and the
Apalachicola River. In addition to project office staffs, technical and support staffs in the
Mobile District Office have significant roles in the successful implementation of this
SOP. Key offices are listed below.
Operations Division
Planning and Environmental Division
Engineering Division
Public Affairs Office
OP-TR
PD-EI
EN-HW
PA
3. References.
a. ER 1130-2-540, Environmental Stewardship Operation and Maintenance
Polices, Chapter 2, Natural Resources Stewardship.
b. EP 1130-2-540, Environmental Stewardship Operation and Maintenance
Guidance and Procedures, Chapter 2, Natural Resources Stewardship
This standing operating procedure supercedes District SOP 1130-2-9 dated 23 Feb 1995

SAM SOP 1130-2-9
XX Month Year
c. ER 1130-2-550, Recreation Operation and Maintenance Polices, Chapter 3,
Project Master Plans and Operational Management Plans.
d. EP 1130-2-550, Recreation Operation and Maintenance Guidance and
Procedures, Chapter 3, Project Master Plans and Operational Management Plans.
e. DR 1130-2-16, Lake Regulation and Coordination for Fish Management
Purposes.
f. DR 1130-2-18, Preparation of Operational Management Plan at Civil Works
Water Resources Projects.
4. Procedures.
g. Executive Order 12962, Recreational Fisheries, 7 June 1995.
In most water years it will not be possible to hold both reservoir levels and river stages at
a steady or rising level for the entire spawning period, especially when upstream
reservoirs and/or the Apalachicola River spawning periods overlap. Droughts and floods
within the basin also present specific water management challenges. During the
spawning period applicable to each water body (paragraph 4(b)), the Corps shall operate
for generally stable or rising reservoir levels , in accordance with the guidance of DR
1130-2-16, and generally stable or gradually declining river stages on the Apalachicola
River, for approximately 4 to 6 weeks during the designated spawning period for the
specified project area. Generally stable or rising levels are defined as not lowering the
reservoir levels by more than 6 inches, with the base elevation generally adjusted upward
as levels rise due to increased inflows or refilling of the reservoir. Generally stable or
gradually declining river stages are defined as ramping down of ½ foot per day or less.
When these management goals are not possible, impose an unreasonable compromise to
other project purposes, or would conflict with other fish management concerns within the
basin, the Corps shall consult with the State fishery agencies and the FWS on balancing
needs within the system and minimizing the impacts of fluctuating reservoir or river
levels. Modifications to fish spawn operations could include readjusting the base
elevation for fish spawn operation purposes at a particular project, allowing a rapid
lowering in elevation back to the base elevation or a readjusted elevation following a
flood event, or other operational adjustments recommended by the interagency team to
minimize impacts and/or enhance system-wide benefits. The Corps shall also consult
with the State fishery agencies and the FWS on water management operations that would
minimize fishery impacts and balance needs throughout the system for the remaining
portions of the fish spawn periods. The Corps shall schedule management
responsibilities that conflict with operating for stable or rising reservoir levels or
relatively stable river stages outside the fish spawning period to the extent practicable,
consistent with other applicable laws and regulations.
a. In February of each year Mobile District staff representatives will meet with the
fisheries biologists from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and the FWS to discuss
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SAM SOP 1130-2-9
XX Month Year
projected spring and summer trends, anticipated hydrological conditions within the basin,
success of the past year’s fish spawn, and ways to balance fisheries priorities between
reservoir and river systems during the upcoming spawning season. An imbalance of prey
and forage fish could occur following the second or third year of poor or unsuccessful
spawning and recruitment, leading to poor sport fishing. Areas where the spawns were
recently unsuccessful should be given higher priority for fish management operations
under low water conditions.
b. The periods during which the Corps shall operate to achieve the purposes of
this SOP are as follows:
Administrative Office
Project/Water Body
Principal Fish
Spawning Period for
Operational
Consideration
Walter F. George Lake 15 March – 15 May
ACF PROJ MGMT OFFICE
Lake Seminole
01 March – 01 May
Apalachicola River 01 April – 01 June
ALLATOONA PROJ MGMT OFFICE Allatoona Lake 15 March – 15 May
LANIER PROJ MGMT OFFICE Lake Sidney Lanier 01 April – 01 June
OKATIBBEE PROJ MGMT OFFICE Okatibbee Lake 01 April – 01 June
WEST POINT PROJ MGMT OFFICE West Point Lake 01 April – 01 June
c. Project personnel shall contact local State fisheries management personnel
responsible for their project areas prior to the initiation of the identified spawning period
and keep in close contact with them throughout the spawning period. PD-EI shall contact
and maintain coordination with the State of Florida fisheries management personnel
regarding initiation and status of fish spawning on the Apalachicola River. Information
regarding the actual progress of fish spawn (i.e., has started, is in progress, is in peak, or
has ended) should be relayed by project personnel to the Mobile District Office through
OP-TR, and reported to EN-HW and PD–EI during the weekly water management
meetings.
d. EN-HW will consider hydrologic conditions within the basin,
recommendations from the State fisheries management agencies and FWS, and status of
fish spawn at other locations within the basin to schedule fish spawn operations for each
project area (reservoir or river system) within the basin. The goal will be to provide
generally stable or rising levels on the reservoirs and/or generally stable or gradually
declining river stages on the Apalachicola River for approximately 4 to 6 weeks during
the spawning period identified for each water body. Efforts to minimize fishery impacts
and balance fishery resource and other project needs within the basin during the
remaining portions of the spawning periods will also consider recommendations from the
State fishery management agencies and FWS. A summary of the status of fish spawn
operations at each project (including date and elevation at initiation and completion of
fish spawn operations) will be posted on the Mobile District Water Management website.
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SAM SOP 1130-2-9
XX Month Year
e. EN-HW will notify the PA office when fish spawning season begins and will
invite PA to specific weekly water management meetings when important decisions
having public impact are likely to be made. PA will advise the news media within 24
hours of notification of any specific water management actions that are potentially
detrimental to the fish spawn, including an explanation of the reasons for the water
management actions.
f. OP-TR will maintain an updated list of State and FWS fisheries biologists for
the lake and river projects. OP-TR personnel will attend weekly water management
meetings during the spawning period, relay pertinent information relating to the status of
fish spawn or other fish management concerns to EN-HW, PD-EI and PA, and send
weekly, either by e-mail or telephone, water conditions data to appropriate State and
FWS fisheries personnel. OP-TR and PD-EI will consult telephonically with State and
FWS fisheries personnel as necessary, and include project personnel in the consultation
as appropriate. Any significant decisions based on the weekly water management
meetings will also be relayed telephonically or by email to State fisheries personnel,
FWS, project personnel, and South Atlantic Division personnel by OP-TR. PD-EI will
advise any environmental groups or other interested stakeholder groups of the proposed
action. At the conclusion of the spawning period, OP-TR will forward a summary report
of the annual fish spawn operations to State fisheries management agencies, FWS, and
South Atlantic Division, with a copy to PD-EI.
g. OP-TR, EN-HW, PD-EI and PA will coordinate directly with each other or
call additional meetings as the need arises.
Date ______________
PETER F. TAYLOR, JR.
Colonel, Corps of Engineers
Commanding
DISTRIBUTION: B
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